英语博客：A Tour of Homes, The Dining Room.

　　It has been some time since we had an episode of The Tour Of Homes, so today we will take a close look at the dining room. It, like the kitchen and lounge, is a focal point of family life. A lot of good things happen here, and it is a place where we celebrate special occasions. This room centers around a table and chairs. Here in Western society, there are often more than four chairs around a table. When there is a special occasion, often friends and family come to celebrate, so more chairs are needed. The table is 'laid' (what we say in England), or 'set' (which is what we say in the U.S.) To do this, we need cutlery, crockery, glasses, sometimes a table cloth or a 'runner' which is a much skinnier version of a table cloth, and a salt and pepper shaker, and perhaps some candles. Don't forget serviettes, or napkins as they call them here in the U.S. For special times, the table can be decorated with candles, flowers, or some craft type arrangement. Here in the North West, it is very popular to mix candles in some pretty arrangement for the table, especially during the Winter. I have seen some center pieces that are a mix of flowers, pebbles¹, plastic fruit, and candles. But it's up to the imagination of the owner. Anything goes. Other furniture in the room includes dressers to store crockery and cutlery, wine glasses, and wine bottles. Often a dining room is decorated with art work of different forms, pretty curtains, perhaps a rug, and often a chandelier or other light fixture² that has more than the average amount of detail. We use our dining room for family meals often during the week, even though sometimes we will eat at different times depending on our schedules. The special occasions are: Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Birthdays. These are the times that I really dress the place up, get out the nice plates and glasses, and make the effort of ironing a table cloth. Even though the way of life in the U.S. is crazy busy, the dining room still can be a place of togetherness and relaxation³.
Grammar notes.
Dining room vocabulary: cutlery, crockery, runner, center piece.
1. We like to get out the decent cutlery when we have people over to dinner.
2. We store the nice crockery in the dresser in the dining room to keep it safe and on display.
3. My mother bought me a lovely Indian table runner the other day which goes perfectly⁴ with the art in the dining room.
4. At Thanksgiving, we usually have a center piece that has Autumn flowers and fruit of the season.

1 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

2 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

3 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。